Photo of Kelowna's Nick Pelletiers swimming in Okanagan Lake by cj.mccomb.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Instagram
August 09, 2023 - 6:00 AM
Kelowna ultra-endurance athlete Nick Pelletier is recovering and spending time with friends and family after swimming the entire length of Okanagan Lake a few days ago, a distance of 113 kilometres.
Pelletier left from the most northern part of the lake near Vernon just after 5 a.m. on Tuesday, August 1. Initially the goal was to break the Guiness Record of swimming the length of the lake in 40 hours, 57 minutes and 11 seconds, a record set by Adam Ellenstein from the USA in July 2016.
It took Pelletier 71 hours and 12 minutes to arrive at the southernmost point in Penticton at roughly 3 a.m. Friday, August 4.
“I’m happy I accomplished it, my goal was to finish and I’m the first Canadian to ever do it,” he said.
A team in kayaks and boats went along with Pelletier and documented his journey live. Crowds of people could be seen and heard along beach fronts in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Peachland, cheering him on.
The swim was also a fundraiser for the Canadian Mental Health Association and Pelletier’s goal of raising $10K was far surpassed and has reached over $40K.
Pelletier supported the mental health association to lessen the stigma he sees for men with mental health issues in sport.
“I think they (Canadian Mental Health Association) are a pretty good service to people,” he said. “There is stigma around men in sports, if you have mental health issues you can‘t talk about it. I feel like if there are programs in place and I can help people have the ability to talk about it it’s pretty important.”
Pelletier said his shoulder gave out less a quarter of the way into the swim and he had to adjust his stroke to keep moving forward. He got chafing during the swim, a cut on his toe that required stitches and is going to get a torn ankle looked at.
Mentally, he said, he’s not very affected long-term.
“I’ve been planning this for years and knew what I was getting into,” he said. “You have to be goal-motivated but process-oriented. Focus on the task at hand and then move to the next one. That’s how you accomplish big goals.”
When asked how he stays awake for so many hours in row, Pelletier said there is “no good way." He used caffeine pills and drank Pepsi.
“It’s more necessity, it isn’t like you’re running and can take a rest when you’re tired. If you rest while you’re swimming, you drown.”
READ MORE: Summer gets even sweeter during the Penticton Peach Festival
Following the 70 hour swim, Pelletier had a 16 hour sleep and spent the long weekend taking time to rest, spending time with family and friends and “just hanging.”
Pelletier won’t be swimming the lake again. He has other international ultra-endurance swimming, running and cycling goals.
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